I worked at Argus Information & Advisory Services full-time (More than a year)

Doesn't Recommend

Negative Outlook

Disapproves of CEO

Doesn't Recommend

Negative Outlook

Disapproves of CEO

Pros

o Free Sodas and Coffee, Clean Bathrooms

Cons

- low salary offset by what they call a "Generous Bonus". I call it baloney. They just hope you quit before the bonus. - terrible management - very long hours -no clear vision - lots of infighting. - meaningless promotions and insignificant raises

Advice to Management

Verisk should fold this company and sell it, or retain its intellectual property and absorb it.

Everything else I guess I'll start from the top down. Management here is horrendous. The way Argus as a company manages its assets, down to how the managers manage their teams. Just poor quality management all around. The company itself could care less about you. The rate of turnover is extraordinarily high, so high in fact, that if you stay there for three or more years, you are probably in the top 5% of employees who have. This company will make you work easily up to 12 hours a day. Don't even get me started on the computers they give you. You would think that a rapidly growing company who handles multiple PETABYTES of data would have some decent quality machines to handle all of that data processing. Wrong. They stick you with a computer, that which I calculated, cost them less than $30/computer. A lot of machines are still on XP too which is hilariously awful. The computers themselves I think have around a gig of ram each? It's absolutely terrible and takes FOREVER to get things done. For a company that expects so much from their workers, how about spending your money on things that would increase productivity for your company? It makes absolutely no sense. Many of the managers are just horrible people. Talk about condescending and treating employees like replaceable garbage. Don't get me wrong, I've seen some fantastic managers, who do actually care about you and treat you as a person, but don't expect much of it. Many managers think extremely highly of themselves, so much so that it is just laughable. They are so oblivious to everything except things that will earn him or her more money in the end. They expect respect too, which I find hilarious as well. There is no organization here. Everything seems to just be done on the fly. They use old, outdated code generated years ago by people who had enough sense to move on to another company. Nobody has any idea what is going on. Argus just tends to wing it, and miraculously gets by. I guess that's due to the fact that they work their employees in to the dirt. Work smart, not hard, should be the ideal scenario in any type of work, Argus does the exact opposite. If you went to school for anything technical related such as Computer Science or Info Technology. Please do yourself a favor and do not even look at this company. They lie in their job descriptions saying that you will be making some real contributions in writing SQL code that will blah blah blah. All you will do is run pre-made, extremely inefficient crap. If you want to develop, do NOT come here. Run far away. Payroll can also be a nightmare sometimes. There are times when the payroll department will forget to give you part of your check, and you have to wait another two weeks to get compensated for their mistakes. To sum things up: Avoid this company like the plague. The company is expanding, sure, but if they continue on like this, it will eventually collapse to the ground.

I have been working at Argus Information & Advisory Services full-time (More than a year)

Doesn't Recommend

Neutral Outlook

Approves of CEO

Doesn't Recommend

Neutral Outlook

Approves of CEO

Pros

1) work life balance is tough but management will accomadate time for your needs (broken car, waiting for the cable guy, etc...) 2) Telecommuting is occasionally permitted. 3) Best data company in the world

Cons

1) infighting between the two major company divisions-- lack of communication between the two 2) Salary is adequate, but they make you wait until March for the bonus. People quit just before receiving their bonuses, which leads me to my next point. 3) NYC companies are out pacing argus in both base pay and bonuses, anecdotal evidence would support this. 4) On average 1-2 people quit per week for a better option. 5) Company only matches a better option rather than going over the top to retain talent. 6) Major brain drain going on here.

Advice to Management

You have to spend it to make it. Start giving meaningful raises to employees. More people are on the way out, you just have to listen around the watercooler carefully enough. Stop hiring from outside to fill manager vacancies. You have talented Senior Analysts that can do the job. Promote from within.